Blackjack is a well-known card game played in casinos. The object of the game is to have a final hand total closer to twenty-one than the final dealer hand total without exceeding twenty-one. For purposes of calculating the final hand total, each card has a value equal to its face value except face cards, which have a value of ten, and Aces, which may have a value of eleven or one, depending on which forms the best hand. In conventional blackjack, the suit of the cards is irrelevant. A final hand total that exceeds twenty-one is said to “bust” and is considered a losing hand.
The form of blackjack played in casinos is banked by the house and is played between a dealer, representing the house, and at least one player. In a typical blackjack game, each player makes a base wager in a wagering area on a playing surface. The dealer deals an initial player hand containing two cards to each player and an initial dealer hand containing two cards to himself or herself. The two cards of the initial dealer hand may be dealt together, with one card face up and the other face down, or dealt separately, with a first card dealt before completing the players' hands and a second card dealt after completing the players' hands.
If the initial dealer hand does not have a natural twenty one, any initial player hand receiving a natural twenty-one or blackjack, i.e. a total of twenty-one in the initial dealt hand, is immediately rewarded, typically at a rate of 2:1, 3:2, or 6:5, and play is terminated as to that player. Each remaining player examines his or her initial player hand and decides whether to hit, i.e. receive another card, or stand, i.e. stop with the current hand. A player may hit as many times as the player wishes as long as the player does not bust, i.e. receive a card causing the cumulative sum of the values of the cards in the player's hand to exceed twenty-one. When a player busts, the player's wager is immediately collected and play is terminated as to that player.
A player may have additional options available depending on the initial player hand dealt. For example, a player may have the option to double down. Although the availability of the double down option vary from casino to casino, doubling down allows a player to double the player's wager in exchange for a single additional card dealt to the initial player hand. This option is typically selected when a player feels that he or she has a reasonable chance of winning by drawing only a single card. This is often the case when the player has an initial two-card total of ten or eleven, so that any ten-value card will give the player a total of twenty or twenty-one, or when the dealer has an exposed card of a five or six, and the player feels it likely that the dealer will bust.
A player may also have the option to split the initial player hand. Specifically, if the player receives a pair, i.e. two cards having the same card value, the player may split the pair and use each card as a basis for a separate hand. For example, if a player were to be dealt a pair of eights, the player may choose to split the pair and continue play with two separate hands each containing an eight and an additional dealt card. Each of the individual split hands is played independently, with the player free to hit or stand (or, possibly, split or double down depending on the house rules) the newly formed split hands.
After all the players have formed final hands, the dealer reveals the face-down card in the dealer hand. The dealer completes the dealer hand according to established house rules. That is, the casino uses established rules to eliminate discretion by the dealer in forming the dealer hand and the dealer hits or stands as the house rules dictate. The final dealer hand is compared to each final player hand and the target value of twenty one to resolve the wagers. In resolving the wagers, a player hand outranks or beats a dealer hand if the total sum of the cards in the player hand is closer to twenty-one than the total sum of the cards in the dealer hand is. For example, if the final dealer hand has a total sum of nineteen and a final player hand has a total sum of twenty, the final player hand “wins” because it is closer to the target value of twenty-one than the final dealer hand is. Wagers on winning player hands are typically rewarded at even money, i.e., 1:1. Wagers are collected from player hands with a final hand total further from twenty-one than the final hand total of the dealer hand is. If the dealer hand busts, all players who did not bust or receive a blackjack are rewarded. If the player and dealer push, i.e., have hands with the same final hand total, the player's wager is returned.